Shattered Dreams
by ChoCedric
Summary: They say you don't always marry the first person you love, but the moment Cho met Cedric, she knew her life was complete. But her imaginings of a beautiful wedding with flowers and decorations have turned out to be nothing but a pile of shattered dreams.


Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

Shattered Dreams

By: ChoCedric

They say you don't always marry the first man you ever love, but Cho Chang knew she was an exception to that rule. The moment she met Cedric Diggory, she knew he was the one. His radiant smile, his magnetic gray eyes, his beautiful and loving personality – she knew that all she'd ever want and all she'd ever need was contained in him. Their courtship was something amazing, and he expressed the same to her too. Everyone thought Cedric Diggory was a jock, but there was a much softer, sweeter side to him, and that side drew Cho to him.

Ever since Cho was a little girl, she'd dreamed about a beautiful wedding she'd have in the future. She dreamed of her father walking her down the aisle, the man she loved smiling a beautiful, soft smile at her, and they would get down on their knees, hands interlinked, quietly saying their vows to each other. Then, when the priest would tell him to kiss his bride, he would have his arms outstretched, ready to take her into them, and they'd share a soft, gentle hug and a warm, passionate kiss.

As she grew older and she learned how babies were made, she imagined her and her sweetheart making love. The first time they'd do it would be on their wedding night, and it would not be a dirty affair. It would be something done between two people who loved each other equally, and they would regard each other's bodies as something special that needed to be cherished. Then they'd fall asleep in each other's arms, protected in each other's love, it creating a warm cocoon around them.

One day during Cho and Cedric's relationship, she confessed all of her hopes and dreams to him. They were up on the Astronomy Tower, snuggled up under the stars. She told him of her perfect wedding, with all the flowers, decorations, and everything her heart desired. She said she'd like nothing better than to spend the rest of her life with the one man she was with right now. Cedric smiled gently at her, tears in his beautiful gray eyes, and said he'd never dreamed that he'd love someone, and someone would love him, this much. "After Hogwarts, love," he said softly, "I can make your dream come true."

Cho can only look back on this with extreme bitterness now, for that was exactly the night before he was ripped away from her. Looking into his blank, lifeless eyes only about twenty-two hours later, she felt all her dreams shatter. All the imaginings of them making love, having beautiful children, dancing close on their wedding night, exchanging silent looks of adoration and love, have all gone with a flash of green light. She looks at the fear on his face and realizes that all his dreams have been shattered too, that there will be no more tomorrows for him. Their beautiful relationship violently ended, and she knows that no matter what, she'll never be able to fall in love with anyone else like she fell in love with Cedric Diggory.

Now, every time she hears about someone dying, her heart fills with hate and anger. She hopes the afterlife offers something better, because she despises the cruelty and nastiness of the world she lives in. Why should it be, that people's loved ones should be ripped away from them, that a flash of green light can make someone so still and silent? Why did she have to go to his funeral instead of their wedding? It's so unfair, and she knows her days and nights will now be filled with endless crying, crying for the life she was going to have.

They say you don't always marry the first person you love, but the moment Cho Chang met Cedric Diggory, she knew her life was complete. But now, that completeness has disappeared, and she is left with nothing but emptiness. Everywhere she goes, she sees his decaying body, with worms infesting it, maggots eating at his beautiful, soft skin. The images fill her with sickness and grief, and she knows she'll never be the same again. Her beautiful life, her world of happiness, has turned out to be nothing more than a pile of withered, shattered dreams.


End file.
